What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is a downloadable interactive fiction game about folk tales in the era of manifest destiny. You will frequently encounter strong profanity and, this being a text-based game, references to but not graphic depictions of sex, violence, and also occult imagery. You'll run into criminals, heavy drinkers, bootleggers, prostitutes. There's no combat, but there's references to violent acts instead; this game is about collecting stories and exploring how and why we bend truth to bond with others.

User Reviews

What's it about?

WHERE THE WATER TASTES LIKE WINE is a narrative adventure about traveling, sharing stories, and surviving manifest destiny. Players wander through the United States -- and through a century of history -- to meet a variety of people, each with their own stories to tell. Exploring a folkloric Depression-era United States, players collect stories which can then be re-told to unlock new interactions, having to pair the right story with the needs of each of the characters that you encounter throughout your travels.

Is it any good?

Chances are fairly good you've never played or seen anything like this folklore storytelling adventure. Where the Water Tastes Like Wine's core is utterly distinct, where your sole task is to collect stories from other characters and utilize them as a sort of currency to progress. In practice, the result is a blend of interactive novels, relationship simulators, and narrative walking simulators deeply versed in Americana anthology. In execution, there's a game about storytelling, lying, and the nature of trust that's alternately repetitive, dull, and slow-moving. Imagine an old-school text-adventure game where you could simply type "walk north" to be at your next destination -- in Where the Water Tastes Like Wine, you'll have to hoof it across a flat map for long stretches of time before you reach your next destination. If the world or traversing it was half as vivid or brimming with personality as everything else, this wouldn't be that bad, but you spend almost as much time talking to people as you do walking to these encounters.

The stories themselves are certainly interesting, running the gamut from chance encounters (taking a cab in the city where the driver is eerily silent, or happening upon a mischievous girl with kittens in a basket) to cursed events (finding a dead body in a field, or taking a picture for a re-united set of twins who after you take the photo realize they aren't related after all). What's much more interesting is to see which stories you tell grow in the telling on different playthroughs -- which ones take on a life of their own, get more exaggerated as they spread, and hear their new mangled forms that people decide they like better instead. It's all fodder for the main events, which is one-on-one conversations with wandering vagabonds over a campfire: They want to hear of your travels, and will request certain types of stories before they ultimately trust you and open up about themselves. (This isn't always perfect, as your subjective perception of what makes a sad or joyful story will frequently differ from that of both the game's developer and the character you're speaking to.) You can then, in turn, exploit other people's personal tragedies for your gain in the game -- dazzling others with your embellishments on other people's lives. This all gets at some interesting themes, but it's doubtful younger players will have the patience for how long it takes before the game starts to build on all these themes and turn it all on its head. Some interesting ideas at play here, and it's well worth a spin, but this is only for those who are comfortable with very delayed gratification.

Talk to your kids about ...

Families can talk about violence in games. What do you notice about your attitudes towards games that don't feature violence as a central component to its play and story? How does playing something like this change your expectations of games and other media?

Talk about the difference between lying and bending the truth. Is there one, and why does this distinction matter?

Have you ever repeated something you heard from someone that you later discovered wasn't true? What did you feel was your responsibility after unintentionally misinforming somebody else?

Common Sense is the nation's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in the 21st century.

Headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C.

Help center

Follow Common Sense Media

Common Sense, Common Sense Media, Common Sense Education, and Common Sense Kids Action, associated names, associated trademarks, and logos are trademarks of Common Sense Media, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (FEIN 41-2024986).

An email you'll actually read

You’re all set!

Look out for our weekly updates soon.

Follow us:

Each week we send a customized newsletter to our parent and teen subscribers. Parents can customize their settings to receive recommendations and parent tips based on their kids' ages. Teens receive a version just for them with the latest reviews and top picks for movies, video games, apps, music, books, and more.

Get age-based movie reviews, app recommendations, and more for your kids.